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Dalepres Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary
Be aware... Be very aware...
Greetings,
Let me start by introducing myself. I am Dale: a self-proclaimed grammar cop. Sometimes, though, I can't live up to my own expectations and need help. I'm glad to have found EnglishForward.com and hope that I can learn and provide help to others as well.
My first question for the forum is about using the idiom, "be aware". It seems that if I want someone to be aware of something, I need merely to state it. What is the point of adding the phrase to the beginning of a sentence? I read a computer programming book once (I'm a programmer by trade) that had, in the searchable e-book version, 135 references to the phrase, "be aware". In a few places the author mixed it up by saying, "Be very aware," even when the thing about which I needed to be very aware was of much less significance than most of the 135 items about which I needed to be merely aware.
So now I am writing a paper and keep finding myself typing, "Be aware". Every time I start to type it I cringe. Am I wrong? Is it OK to type, "Be aware"?
I appreciate any discussion or thoughts on the topic.
Regards,
Dale
Let me start by introducing myself. I am Dale: a self-proclaimed grammar cop. Sometimes, though, I can't live up to my own expectations and need help. I'm glad to have found EnglishForward.com and hope that I can learn and provide help to others as well.
My first question for the forum is about using the idiom, "be aware". It seems that if I want someone to be aware of something, I need merely to state it. What is the point of adding the phrase to the beginning of a sentence? I read a computer programming book once (I'm a programmer by trade) that had, in the searchable e-book version, 135 references to the phrase, "be aware". In a few places the author mixed it up by saying, "Be very aware," even when the thing about which I needed to be very aware was of much less significance than most of the 135 items about which I needed to be merely aware.
So now I am writing a paper and keep finding myself typing, "Be aware". Every time I start to type it I cringe. Am I wrong? Is it OK to type, "Be aware"?
I appreciate any discussion or thoughts on the topic.
Regards,
Dale
Top answer
Hi, Here are a few brief comments. I would say the phrase is best used to emphasize something important to the reader. Broadly speaking, it should be used iin a context where the writer is instructiong / ordering / advising the reader in some way.
- Hi, Here are a few brief comments.
- I would say the phrase is best used to emphasize something important to the reader.
- Broadly speaking, it should be used iin a context where the writer is instructiong / ordering / advising the reader in some way.
- eg in a user guide or instruction manual.
- I don't know what kind of paper you are writing, but I wouldn't normally expect to see the phrase in a university essay.
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2 Answers
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Hi,
Here are a few brief comments.
I would say the phrase is best used to emphasize something important to the reader.
Broadly speaking, it should be used iin a context where the writer is instructiong / ordering
Here are a few brief comments.
I would say the phrase is best used to emphasize something important to the reader.
Broadly speaking, it should be used iin a context where the writer is instructiong / ordering
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dalepresWhat is the point of adding the phrase to the beginning of a sentence?To emphasize that the information in that sentence is more important than that in other sentences in the same text, perhaps. Similar beginnings are found everywhere:
Note that ...
Take note that
Be cautious when ...
It is important to note/notice that ...
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